JOY IS NOT HERSELF

The three Montgomery children would have been a perfectly happy group if it had not been for the fourth. Like a skeleton in the closet, ten year old Melisande haunted her family with a strange and secret malady- Melisande was a witch! Try as they would to lead normal lives, the Montgomerys were incessantly thwarted by Melisande's peculiar and ominous behavior. It is Melisande's spell that forces her father to purchase a weekend house in a secluded part of Sussex and her indomitable power that wields its evil on neighbor Eleanor, as revenge for the death of a guinea pig the family had acquired. Yet it is only through her worst enemy that Melisande is able to be exorcised. When a magic spell causes Eleanor to be thrown from a horse, Melisande is doomed forever unless her adversary recovers. With the help of some fancy finagling by neighbors in the know, and the recollection of Melisande's middle name (Joy), evil domination gives way to normalcy. Surrounding the bubbling cauldron of this supernatural brew is still another mixture- subtle humor and an exciting challenge. Children who love to settle down with a good story will not be disappointed.